


a shout among whispers

by onetruethree



Series: 2020 Ficlets [4]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Death, Character Study, Gen, I'm not caught up so it could be inaccurate, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Minor Judith Grimes & Michonne, Minor Negan & Judith Grimes, POV Second Person, i think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:41:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23306233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onetruethree/pseuds/onetruethree
Summary: Judith is the first to hear the walkers, and Negan is the first one that talks.
Series: 2020 Ficlets [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1673587
Kudos: 2





	a shout among whispers

**Author's Note:**

> Never expected to write for The Walking Dead, and this is very different from any of my other fics but I had a lot of feelings™ rewatching the show during quarantine so here's this. Hope you guys like it and any comments are appreciated!

The first time I met you, you cried. I don't remember that; I was too young. But I have ghosts of memories from stories you've told me. That's what I think the walkers remember. Stories of pasts they've long forgotten. That's how I remember my dad.

My dad left. My mom died having me. My brother killed her. Or maybe I killed her.

I don't remember Carl like I should. Part of me wishes he were a walker so I could remember what he looked like. 

And then there's Negan. You knew him before I did, but you don't know him like I do. He seems to be one of the only people who understands me. He seems on my side, even if he isn't on yours.

He was the first one to talk. I wasn't sure if I heard right at first. I wasn't sure that I wasn't going crazy. Not because of the act, but because of what he said. "Judith."

Then, I thought it was rather funny. My name? Not Lucille? Not even Rick, or Carl, or Michonne, but Judith. Guess I had made an impression on him, as he did me.

He died saving me. Maybe that's why. Maybe it was his last thought. Maybe that's what they're all thinking. Or maybe it's just what we're all thinking: survive. Nonetheless, that's what he said. That's all he would say. 

I was supposed to kill him. I had promised to. But the Walker Negan wanted to survive, and I guess that's the best way it found to. 

Is it even surviving to be a walker?

I know it isn't living. 

I cut off his arms and tied a chain around his neck. I think you would've liked that. He keeps the others away. But I can hear them, too, now. They're loud. Sometimes I can make out what they're saying. Mostly it's just, "Help," or "Stop", or "I'm scared". Sometimes, it's, "I love you."  
At least they've left a legacy. Most people only leave their bodies behind. At least these bodies have something to say. Or maybe I'm just hearing what I want to.

"Judith." He says it all night. I occasionally have the urge to end it and stab him in the head, but I think that'd be too easy. 

I could bury him, but I don't have a shovel. And I'd rather hear him than all the others. He doesn't sound like him anymore, but at least he's someone to talk to.

I wish it were you instead, but I'm not sure I would be able to keep you if that were the case. I miss you so much, Michonne. I just want to see your face again. I would kill to see someone who wasn't Negan. I would kill to hear anything else.

If I wasn't going crazy before, the constant sound of "Judith" behind me is doing the trick. 

I came across someone else who was alive today. I hadn't seen anyone else in a long time. He was bigger than me, but he was scared of Negan. For a moment, I was proud of keeping him as a pet, even though you always told me it wasn't good to dwell on the past. He served utility, so what did it matter that he was a reminder of before.

I killed the person I met. He would've killed me anyway. And it was easy to chain him up during the time between his death and resurrection. I was so happy to get another pet, another face, another voice.

So it was a little disappointing to hear when all he was able to say was, "Judith".


End file.
